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Oprah's producers let the media see the first few minutes of her big shows at the United Center. (Published Tuesday, May 17, 2011)

Of the more than 154,000 ticket requests that flooded the office of Harpo Studios, just a few thousand of Oprah's most loyal and lucky fans were selected for Tuesday's back-to-back shows at the United Center.

There weren't any free cars or any of Oprah's favorite material things, but there were plenty of her favorite people.

Stars Crowd Oprah's Stage For Final Show

The dual shows were a veritable who's who of pop culture the likes of which Chicago hasn't seen in a very long time. Appearing on stage throughout the night with the Queen of Talk: Tom Hanks, Tom Cruise, Josh Groban, Patti LaBelle, Beyonce, Halle Berry, Queen Latifah, Katie Holmes and Rascal Flatts. And that was just the first show.

The father and brother of Bulls power forward Carlos Boozer were also spotted in the audience, as was Blackhawks captain Jonathan Toews, who brought his mom.

Boxes of Kleenex were under most of the chairs on the main floor, a clear sign that there might be tears. And there were.

One audience member named Alex from Winnipeg, Manitoba was called to the stage. From there, he called his gifriend on stage and proposed to her. She said yes and the crowd roared.

Oprah, too, turned on the water works. An especially moving moment was when she was joined on stage by the young men of Morehouse College. One man, who just earned his PHD, later told NBC Chicago that his life would not be the same had it not been for Oprah's help with a scholarship a few years ago.

The show -- dubbed as a "surprise spectacular" -- stayed true to its billing. Oprah, we're told, didn't know what the show would entail or who was on the guest list. Her producers only told her where and when the shows would be recorded.

Throughout the night, Oprah was "surrounded by love," as Tom Hanks said. ABC News anchor Diane Sawyer would later reveal that 25,000 trees would be planted in Oprah's name. Singer John Legend announced that Target was going to rebuild several libraries across the country because of Oprah's committment to books and reading.

Besides a star-studded night of entertainers and high energy, audience members did walk away with something from the show: a free copy of O Magazine.

The shows will air May 23 and May 24. Winfrey's last show airs May 25 after 25 years.

The Night's Updates:
11:22 p.m. -- Kristin Chenoweth, who performed "For Good" earlier in the evening, tweets: "Best night of my life. Sang for Oprah!!!"

10 p.m. -- Simon Cowell pays tribute to Oprah. He says that Oprah has done what no other TV personality has done with a show. And, he says, she's a good kisser!

9:46 p.m. -- Jerry Seinfeld is on stage with Oprah.He's making jokes about marriage and says Oprah's show is great for husbands-in-training.

9:37 p.m. -- Stevie Wonder appears. Now he and Foxx are both singing to Oprah.

9:35 p.m. -- Will Smith is going through the audience trying to find men who love Oprah. Jamie Foxx is one of them.Foxx sings the Stevie Wonder song, "Isn't She Lovely" to Oprah.

9:34 p.m. -- Jordan tells Oprah that if she ever needs a job she should call him.

Oprah Winfrey reacts as she is surrounded by Will Smith, his wife Jada Pinkett Smith and Michael Jordan, right, during a star-studded double-taping of "Surprise Oprah! A Farewell Spectacular." (Charles Rex Arbogast, AP)